Helotech

Thanks Tony. I never thought of that. I’ll give it a go.

Ya. I may forego the accuracy and go for function over form. I did put Velcro on my armor in the Ab / belt connection area and it looks like crap. I'm thinking I'll swap out for regular snaps.

The original style used in the films. Sometimes called poppers? I wanted to stay original to the film, but may have to switch them out... Will try some Velcro, but I am worried it will wear out over time. I can cinch the belt Velcro really tight at the back to keep it from falling off when the current snaps don't hold it. The biggest issue is the belt then pivots down at the front away from the Ab buttons. Ab: From EBay photo.

Thanks. I am slowly starting work on the armor for EI level. The package containing my helmet stencils plus a couple other things should be arriving within a day or two. That will allow me to build the helmet to Centurion level. After that my only issue will be the pesky bells and Ab / kidney gaps holding me back from Centurion. I have been seriously stalled due to ongoing issues with my belt snaps not holding. I am using "S" snaps and they don't want to hold at all. I have used links provided by other people that lead to justjosephs snap tutorial, but it is more for the other style of snap. The snaps I am using are from a multi pack (3 different colours) off EBay. Not sure if they are just cheap versions. I had to go this route as these snaps are surprisingly hard to find here in Trenton. Does anyone use a backup system, like big strips of Velcro under the belt to hold it on? Does anyone have a few good quality "S" snaps they would be willing to part with? I'd gladly pay for the snaps and shipping. Thanks

Thanks for the link Q. The snaps I'm dealing with are the "S" snaps on the Ab. I did try the fixes listed in the link for the other style of snap and they still didn't work. I retried several loose snaps and now they seem like they won't hold the weight of the belt. They do pop on but are easy to remove. I then tried and removed about 4 snaps from the belt, and all of them fail to hold the belt on. Maybe I need better quality ones? I just bought a multipack off ebay, maybe even same ones list in ukswraths builds. I don't really want to, but I may have to resort to Velcro on Ab and attached to belt to hold it up.

I'm having an issue with my Ab male snaps not holding / gripping the female belt snaps securely enough. When I wear the armor the belt very lightly clicks on, the pops off almost immediately. I removed the belt female snap (by drilling out the backing plate post), then took the snap and attached it to the Ab. It snapped in securely and held very well. I think the issue is the little female backing plate post that gets flattened out when the snap is installed. I think it is preventing the female snap from latching onto the Ab male snap. Are there any recommendations?

Thanks! And specifically thank you for your help and patience with questions. More may be incoming as I start work for Expert Making plans for Fanexpo this month as well.

TK-98695 https://www.501st.com/members/displaymemberdetails.php?userID=30988 Please enable me for access. Thanks,

Just got approved!!! TK-98695

Thank you. Every little boys dream. Gonna start work on the Expert tonight.

Big News! I just got Basic Approval!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am now officially TK-98695. Thanks to everyone for their help. I'll be asking and posting more as I work towards Expert Level now LOL

ATA is almost an exact colour match if the ears I got from him are any indication. I didn't think there would be that much size or colour difference between armour makers. I'll try to do some adjusting of the shoulder strapping as I don't want to order. First off, your solution sounds great and simple, which I will try, but there may be a couple problems: Unfortunately, I don't have that much wiggle room to move the shoulder female snaps. See below. I think this what you meant? As I think about it, I may run into another issue. Right now my bells are molded fairly tightly around the biceps. If I move the snaps forward, I think this would simply cause the shoulders to pivot or rotate around the bicep. They may then simply dig into my pecs. They would not reduce the gaps to the chest plate. I may have to reheat the bells and pull the front towards the chest. I like how the back and chest armour fit right now. They are kind of snug to my body, which I think looks and feels better than being droopy, so lengthening the white strap doesn't appeal to me. Right side: You can see that the female snap for the bell is 1/2 inch from the snap that goes to the chest. On the left side, the snap is 1/2" from the chest armour tab, where it is glued to the edge. I can pull the strap off the chest piece a little bit and move the snap under the armour tab? Chest is towards the right of this pic. I'll resew the snaps as far forward as I can, then go from there. I really don't want to order new bells.... Here is another question that I MAY be wrong about. When people take their pics from the front, it seems like some, shall we say, artificially pivot the arms and shoulders forward to reduce the gap to the chest plate (just like I did). The back pics show more gap than the front. Is this a way of doing it? Bad form to ask this question?

Hey all, I've asked this before, but never got a response. I have tried several ways to fit my shoulder bells so they reach the chest armor. It is a no-go and it will hold me back from Centurion. I think someone at SDS may have trimmed the front and back to small. There is not enough material to wrap around my biceps and reach front and back. The biceps are just above being snug to my arms. I don't have huge muscles... The return edge at bottom of bells is all removed. Does any one have the following measurements? My bell is approx. 10 3/4 inches on the curve. If my bells are to small in this measurement I may need to order new bells from ATA.

So, I finally re-submitted for pre-approval!!! I know it's not required, but it gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling to know I'm on the right track to apply to my Garrison. Once that is done, I start some mods to head to Expert status. I did some mods to help the armor fit better: I swapped out the left side elastics I installed and put proper length webbing. This along with an additional snap added to the right side elastic REALLY snugged up the armor! I have to suck in my gut a bit, but the side gaps have been reduced significantly. Right side elastic now has 3 snaps. LOL I will swap this out (or leave it...), depending on how much I have to eat that day... Put two large tabs of hook Velcro on the chest and Ab, far enough apart that when I use a length of 2" elastic stretched almost as far as it will go, it draws the two pieces together. The Velcro tab from the bell to bicep won't work. When I stretch the bell to shoulder attachment elastic and try to do the snap, the Velcro pulls apart. I will install a snap on the strap instead. SO, using my previous to do list: Buy thicker white elastic string for shoulder strapping. I have thin double looped thin elastic to hold ribbed shoulder to white elastic strap underneath. DONE Fix the belt snaps so they don't pop off Ab. I have bent the ABS belt, and replaced one male snap on the Ab, but the snaps still fail after a bit or won't even hold. I'll replace both female snaps on the belt and see if that helps. Belt snaps still popping off. I haven't replaced the female portions on the belt. Is there a link to snap troubleshooting anywhere? Possibly Install interior strapping to help raise the cod. DONE Finish bringing TD to Centurion DONE I still have to trim, paint and install the new Hero ear pieces. I will have to look through threads on how to properly do this so there is a tight fit with little open seam between ears and helmet. The ATS ear pieces, while excellent quality, don't have very good trim lines. Will start on this after Basic approval Finish helmet electronics. Not required but I wanna get it done. Ongoing The biggest (and hopefully only) issue that will keep me from Centurion will be those pesky bells,... This is still an issue. No matter how I position my arms and shoulders, the bells won't move closer to the chest. I may have to order bells from ATA... Next biggest Centurion hold back is the Ab / Kidney opening. I'll leave this to last as I want to hold off filling in the left side holes, adding shims and redoing all that stuff. This has gotten much better after adjusting and replacing some straps. A few more lbs lost and they should close up. The thigh straps to my belt still need to have a loop sewn in them. I just wrapped them around the belt to make sure they were at the proper distance from the cod/Ab. So, just awaiting pre-approval now...

Many mods done since originally posted. Hopefully I'm ready for Basic.... Build Posts located here Updated Information: 1. Dave Galant 2. Future Garrison: Canadian Garrison 3. Armor maker: SDS 4. Helmet maker: SDS 5. Cloth belt maker: Imperial Issue (With SDS front panel) 6. Neck seal maker: SDS 7. Boot maker (SDS) 8. Blaster maker (SDS) 9. Gasket maker (unknown) 10. Height: 5' 10" ish 11. Weight: 185lb 12. TK Type: ANH Hero 13. Assisting Trooper: gmrhodes13, lucnak, and justjoseph63, I am not posting any new helmet photos as nothing has changed since the original post. Just scroll up I've almost got all the components to jump to EI as well...

SO, the final thing for the night. The TD is finally finished except for painting the screws black.. I have painted the screws with one primer coat and will probably add another before a couple layers of semi-gloss black. I was only able to find 25mm aluminum, so that is what I used. The top bends of the bracket may be squeezed tighter. I drilled the holes in the bracket and attached with one screw. After starting the bend to at least the second screw hole, I removed it. I then bent the aluminum around a 1 3/4" pipe I had laying about. This gave it a nice tight curl. It basically snapped onto the TD when I reinstalled it. Once it was installed I used various clamps and scrap metal stock to bend it into the bracket shape. The back tab is 2 3/4" long, with the final little bend about 1/2" First primer coat for screws. More to follow.

Thanks! That clears it up much better. I was confused as I had concentrated on reading the EI and Centurion approval requests, and saw that people were being accepted to those higher levels through the forum. I was mistaken and thought the same applied for Basic. Much appreciated, yet again.

Thanks for the help. I'm trying to find a tricky balance. The SDS armour comes pre-assembled, and therefore pre-trimmed. I have yet to find length measurements for other makers armour pieces so I can compare to mine. I think the bells are trimmed to narrow, and therefore won't wrap around my arm to meet the chest plate. I'd love to get the measurement of the bell bottom edge length from someone.... To try and minimize the bell to shoulder gap, my attachment strap is short as per uswraths measurements. The bells sit right at the shoulder strips. This raised them up. Then the elastic strap at the bottom of the bells wouldn't stay seated around the bicep. I was attempting to minimize the bicep / forearm gap as stated in several builds, and they are actually about 1" apart. I can easily lengthen this. This is the issue: I have checked several posts, builds and the CRL. I agree that my hand to lower forearm gap is a bit excessive, but many posts stated that the bicep to forearm gap is more critical. I'll post more pics after some other minor changes. Working on the TD right now

Thanks Luc! Once I get the TD finished I will submit for Basic. I maybe should have done it before I tore it apart LOL. So to confirm, I submit my application for pre-approval through the ANH TK Forum thread here, then notify the GRL of my Garrison that I have been approved? For some reason the application process seems a little confusing. I just got notified my Trooperbay items (helmet stencils, Blaster rear ring) have shipped. That will be another step towards Centurion. So, items left to do from the previous list: Buy thicker white elastic string for shoulder strapping. I have thin double looped thin elastic to hold ribbed shoulder to white elastic strap underneath. Fix the belt snaps so they don't pop off Ab. I have bent the ABS belt, and replaced one male snap on the Ab, but the snaps still fail after a bit or won't even hold. I'll replace both female snaps on the belt and see if that helps. Possibly Install interior strapping to help raise the cod. Finish bringing TD to Centurion I still have to trim, paint and install the new Hero ear pieces. I will have to look through threads on how to properly do this so there is a tight fit with little open seam between ears and helmet. The ATS ear pieces, while excellent quality, don't have very good trim lines. Finish helmet electronics. Not required but I wanna get it done. The biggest (and hopefully only) issue that will keep me from Centurion will be those pesky bells,... Next biggest Centurion hold back is the Ab / Kidney opening. I'll leave this to last as I want to hold off filling in the left side holes, adding shims and redoing all that stuff

Thanks Dan. I'm holding off on the shim for now. Still slowly losing weight (this armour was a good incentive). Once I hit about 170 I'll see how the armor fits. More updates. I trimmed the back of both calves. Thanks for the reminder gm. Before. And after on both I added the strapping for the bell to bicep. The SDS TD is too long at about 197mm. The end caps were both cut off. It took me a while to figure out how to remove the ring of grey ABS from inside the cap. I originally thought they were glued on, hence the cutting. I later found out they were simply press fitted (very tightly mind you...) into place. I f I knew this I would have simply used the hot bath sooner. Anyways.... I placed the cap in hot water and tried to pry out the grey ring, but it wouldn't budge. So, I screwed two screws into the ring, and then used pliers grasping the screws to pull out the ring. The original screw holes will be covered by the new clips (to be made) and screws I am using. Left, new screws. Original screws on the right. The end caps are reinstalled with just a dab of E6000. After cutting the caps off they don't overlap the pipe by more than 2 or 3mm, so some help is needed to keep them on. The TD is now 185mm.

Doh! Thought it was just above the bottom. Easy fix. Thanks!

I finally had time for suiting up and pictures, but first, some more build pics: Initial belt curve: After some time in the hot tub... I'm still having issues with the belt snaps not holding. I replaced one male snap on the Ab. Next step is replacing the female snaps on the belt. Bell elastics glued on. After test fitting the whole armor, I will have to add snaps on the inside bottom of the bells, as well as a strap to the top of the biceps to keep the biceps from sliding down. Sniper knee. Hopefully this will pass for centurion when I get there. This is the best I could line up the top of the sniper plat and calf edges. I added little Velcro tabs to the top of the boots. These attach to pile Velcro on the inside of the front and rear calf. The initial bracket straps were kind of short, preventing the chest armour from hanging over the Ab enough. If I moved the wrong way then the chest would ride up and end up on the top edge of the Ab. I then need to readjust it to let the chest fall back into proper position. Original strapping 1 1/4" long. I took these off and made new ones than end up about 2" long. They work better, but I still get the occasional chest "ride-up" situation. Now me in the initial "Post-major-modification-armour-fitting" The biceps have slipped down because there is no strapping to hold it to the bells. I thought of doing the big ABS hanger hook, but will probably do a simply strap and snap from the bicep to the inside of the bell. The fitment of the bells are better after the hot water bath, but for the life of me I can't get them closer to the chest plate. I'm not sure if the trimming done by SDS took too much of the front and back of the bell? I may be able to bend the bell into more of a curve, but there may not be enough material to wrap around the bicep and meet the chest armour. I also shortened left and right white elastic shoulder straps by about 3/4". This tightened the fitment of the armour to back and chest, and raised the Ab / cod up slightly. I find the top of the thighs hit the Ab slightly when I walk. I can manually lift the cod up another inch or so, but to have it permanent I may have to use a better strapping system. Possibly suspenders like what was originally installed. I could then cinch the armour tighter. I have not made a loop in the thigh black strap to fit over the belt I am wearing. The long elastic is simply wrapped around the belt for now. Is the thigh to cod gap ok? The thigh ammo belt rivets still need paint. I forgot to measure the side gap after I added an additional snap inside to tighten it. Does the chest / ab armour overlap at the corner look ok? Seems excessive or weird to me. The drop boxes line up perfectly with the belt edges. It is just off kilter here. The armour is now fitting better, and the left and right gaps are a little uneven. Sigh….I'm still debating snugging up the left as well. I do find it hard to bend my arms completely. It is very difficult to raise them to put on my helmet by myself. I also have to walk very carefully to keep everything lined up and prevent waddling and clicking / snapping of armour. LOL Summary: Install bell to bicep straps Buy thicker white elastic string for shoulder strapping. I have double looped thin elastic to hold ribbed shoulder to white elastic strap underneath. Fix the belt snaps so they don't pop off Ab Paint thigh rivet Possibly Install interior strapping from Ab to kidney that will go over my shoulders to help raise the cod. Bring TD to Centurion level. It is a little too long, and proper TD clips need installing. I still have to trim, paint and install the new Hero ear pieces. I will have to look through threads on how to properly do this so there is a tight fit with little open seam between ears and helmet. I have ordered helmet paint stencils from Trooper Bay. Once they arrive I will get my helmet finished for Centurion. The helmet electronics are about 50% done. The biggest (and hopefully only) issue that will keep me from Centurion will be those pesky bells. But the big question? Is this good enough for basic approval? Even if approved I'm not sure if I'm comfortable wearing this for extended periods for trooping. If I stand still I look good, but after moving arms or walking, the armour starts to shift around, and the pieces snap against each other.

Belt was slightly curved from SBS, but not as much as in your ref pic. I'll give that a go and replace the snap. Thanks for the advice.

One further questions I may have forgotten to ask. One of the snaps on the Ab is weak, and the belt easily pops off. Is there a way to remedy this? Does this mean I didn't hammer the male and female portions together tight enough through the Ab armor? Should I remove and install a new male snap? Cheers

Well, after a 5 day hiatus in I am back at it. Even though I had fun on vacation, is it bad when I say I would have much rather been working on my armor instead of hanging with family? Sniper knee installed. I'll have to see how it measures up for the proper top edge alignment for centurion. Thigh ammo pack is installed. I originally trimmed it to just under 16", but then it was further trimmed to about 14" to better match the thigh profile. It is still clamped at the front as I dolloped some glue in there to keep it from sagging. I went for the slightly angled up option. I used single cap rivets for installation which still need to be painted. I've also filled and sanded the tops of both thighs and calves where the armor pieces join. Once again, this was a purely esthetic things for me. There still might be small touchups I want to do as the ABS paste had tiny bubbles in it. This is where my OCD is showing it's ugly face and delaying the build... I basically used wet sanding (to about 3000 grit) then finished with Tamiya model polishing compounds. These are used in model building to achieve very smooth finishes in plastic. I've installed the 3" elastic to front of thighs that will be part of the suspension belt system. They are still about 2' long until I get a final fit done. All cover strips are now done. I will be adding interior strips once I get my Basic approval done. Next big step was addressing the shoulder bell fitment over the bicep. The bells were flared out too much. I used excellent instructions by justjoseph (THANKS!) and a pot of boiling water to reshape the bells. They may need additional tweaking after I do another fitment check. Flared bell bottoms (HA!) on left pieces. After some heat and tweaking. I'm not sure if the bells are supposed to tightly hug the biceps? Left (heat treated) compared to original right. Right side on the bicep before heating. Better pics once I can get it all put on. The bell to shoulder straps are also glued on. That's all for tonight. Getting there bit by bit...